Flying clients around in her helicopter sometimes takes Maria Langer off the grid. A bit of experimenting helped her (and now maybe you!) to get connected again, using a smartphone with a Bluetooth interface, Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, and a dial-up networking service.

From the author of

From the author of

I spend an unusual amount of time off the grid—in other words, in
locations with no electricity or telephone lines, and certainly no Internet
access. But, like most computer geeks, I often need to access the
Internet, even when I’m in these remote places. That’s why I bought
a smartphone with Internet capabilities last May. Okay, so most geeks have had
such a phone for at least two years. But I’m not a supergeek like other
people.

I wanted the ability to access the Internet just about anywhere. And what I
got as a bonus was a service called Broadband Access Connect or
dial-up networking, which made it possible for my computer to access
the Internet via the smartphone’s Internet connection, through a Bluetooth
interface.

In this article, I’ll explain how you can set up such a connection with
your Mac. Keep in mind that how this trick works on your cell phone depends on
your smartphone model and cellular provider. I’m using a Treo 700p with
Verizon. Although the Verizon Treo 700p User’s Guide said that I
needed to install software on my Mac to use this feature, that wasn’t
necessary, as you’ll see a bit later on. Your Mac already has everything
you need to make the connection work.

NOTE

These instructions assume you have Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard running on your Mac.
You’ll need a Bluetooth connection and a cellular smartphone with
broadband access service enabled. These instructions also assume that
you’re within a service area for broadband access.

Got all that? Then let’s give it a try.

Step 1: Get the Info You Need

Start by contacting your cellular provider to make sure that broadband access service—or whatever your provider calls it—is available. If necessary, enable this feature for your account. Keep in mind that you might have to pay extra for this service. I pay an extra $15 per month, which I think is worthwhile.

CAUTION

Don’t confuse broadband access with your provider’s other Internet service. For example, my smartphone can connect to the Internet with its own browser, Google Maps, and other applications that require an Internet connection. But that doesn’t automatically mean that I can use the phone to get my computer connected. That little service is why I pay the extra $15 monthly.

Your provider might roll all Internet services together. If so, great! Unfortunately, I can’t query every provider about every service. You’ll need to do your own homework before you get started.

Next, get the login information you need from your wireless provider. This info includes the access phone number (which might not actually resemble a phone number), user ID, and password. You’ll be putting this information into the Mac OS X Network preferences pane, using the Bluetooth Setup Assistant. We’ll get to that step shortly.